In Memory
by Cokkii
Summary: Everyone has lost someone. And everyone mourns differently. Rating updated for language.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own jack.

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**In Memory: Chapter One**

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Everyone had lost someone. A brother, mother, father, friend. And the guys at RangeMan celebrated their lives by having a drink or three and letting their hair down, or so to speak. Every year, once a year, the guys got together and had themselves a good time at one of the local dives. They even organized rides so everyone could party and drink without having to worry about who was taking everyone home.

But per usual Ranger didn't stay long. He didn't like to leave the company in the hands of those who were unfamiliar with the accounts, even if they were RangeMan employees brought in from the other branches. His customers deserved an experienced hand available to them at all times. Or that was the bull he spouted every time so one asked why he left right before the fun started.

Little did the others know that he liked to sit in his apartment on seven and mourn. He mourned all the men who had lost their lives serving with him, under him. He mourned the life he could have had and the family he lost to his ARMY career, his daughter. And most of all he mourned this empty space. He wasn't sure what would fill it but he mourned its emptiness all the same.

And everyone mourns differently.

--

AN: What do you think? I plan to crank out a few more chapters to see what ya'll think. This is the first story I've posted here for a while. I am stealing one of my characters from my other stories so don't freak if you've seen her somewhere before.


	2. Chapter 1

AN: Thank you for the kind reviews. I know the last "chapter" was short but the following chapters might be too until I get into a groove with the story. Hope you enjoy.

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**In Memory**

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There was collective groan when Ranger walked off the elevator and onto the floor the morning after. Lester had his head resting on his desktop. Ranger stopped and leaned against the cubicle wall looking down, waiting for Les to notice him. It wasn't until he heard the distinct grunt and snore that he realized Les had fallen asleep. The whole floor watched with varied degrees of interest, waiting to se what torture Ranger would put their hung-over friend through. It came as a surprise to everyone when Ranger walked away.

--

Stephanie's morning wasn't anything new. The sunlight streaming though the thin curtains lit up the room way too early in Steph's opinion. She rolled over, bringing her blankets over her head trying to block it all out. Unfortunately, her alarm went off not long after. With a groan of her own she made her way to the bathroom, took care of business, ignored her bed head and headed to the kitchen.

She set the coffee pot on percolate and turned her attention to her roommate. "Morning Rex." She tapped the side of the glass container and smiled at the small shiver of the soup can in answer. Steph dropped a couple of grapes in as a treat and apology for the full dish of hamster munchies she supplied as well.

Once the coffee was done Steph poured herself a large cup and took into the bedroom with her. She stood at her closet, doors wide open (they actually could no longer close due to the overflowing mountain of shoes), coffee in hand. She sipped the wonderful brew as she pretended to contemplate what she should wear that day. In reality she didn't have much of a choice seeing as she had taken RangeMan on their offer of steady employment. "Hmm, let's see. Should I wear black with black, faded black with black, or black on black with black?"

--

The day was progressing normally at RangeMan when Ranger walked onto the floor after returning from an early meeting. This morning most of his guys were hungover but it seemed that lunch had taken away the last few remaining aches and pains.

The walk to his office was practically a straight shot. When he first started the company he would take a detour by the monitors to see if anything had gone wrong. It took him a while, but a couple years later he was heading directly to his office, trusting the men he left on duty. But nowadays, the walk was harder to make. Ever since he hired Stephanie Plum, he had this compulsion to stop and check up on her, to make sure everything was going well, much like he did in the early days of the company. Today, he noticed, she was late.

Ranger kept the frown hidden from the men. Certainly he was displeased from an employers point of view but as a… well, whatever he was with Steph, he was concerned. But it wasn't like she'd never been late before.


	3. Chapter 2

**In Memory**

--

It was a slow morning at the cop shop. Eddie, Big Dog, and Morelli were lounging in the break room putting off paper work for stale doughnuts and luke warm coffee. They were all laughing at a bad joke Big Dog had heard from his brother-in-law when a call came over the intercom.

"Attention all officers, crowd control requested at building fire midtown. Repeat, crowd control needed at fire midtown."

"This screams Steph." Eddie commented. Knowing how true that was, Morelli made his way to dispatch to get the details.

"What building?" he asked as soon as he entered.

"Small business. Reports are that near-by buildings and cars are catching and spreading the fire. The fire department doesn't have enough hands to handle all the looky-lou's." Janice Stills was the dispatcher on duty and had grown up in the burg and went to the same high school as Morelli. She was now happily married and had two little girls at home. She was a no-body's-business kind of person and was one of the best dispatcher in the county.

"Any reports of injuries?"

"Too early to tell. Besides, its pretty chaotic over there. You want answers you better get over there."

"Thanks, Janice." Morelli gave her a quick peck on the cheek much to her displeasure and received a smack on the arm for his trouble.

"Which car we taking?" Eddie asked.

"Sirens will get us there faster" said Big Dog.

"Black and white it is then."

The drive was no more then 10 minutes on a busy day but between the sirens and the complete chaos closer to the scene, it took them 12.

--

The wreckage and fire, chaos and people did little to unnerve Morelli. It was, after scanning the lot, looking to locate Steph, the lack of, not only her but the men in black as well.

There was little to do with Stephanie's life the RangeMen didn't know about to have them not be here at another one of her scenes added fuel to the spark of panic inside of him.

Knowing the only way to settle his uneasiness with the whole thing he had to do something he hated. He pulled his phone out of its holster at his hip and pushed in a speed dial. If he wasn't at a crime scene he would have thought it embarrassing he had his mortal enemy on his speed dial but at the moment he could care less.

"Yo."

"Manoso, Morelli."

"What can I do for you, officer?"

Morelli sighed. "As much as I hate to ask, is she with you?"

There was a pause on the other end. "Is she supposed to be?"

"I'm standing at the scene that screams Steph and I can't find her. Please tell me one of your guys picked her up."

There was another pause, longer. "What kind of scene?"

"Boss?" Another voice came through over the phone. "I'm sorry to interrupt but I just heard over the band that there is a serious fire about two miles east of here. It," there was a pause. "It looks like it started as a car fire."

"Have you called her cell?" Ranger asked.

"I tried on the way over but it couldn't connect me." Morelli answered.

"On my way." And all he could hear was the dial tone.

--


	4. Chapter 3

AN: Whoa, I need to get going again or this will end up another dead story. I won't let that happen. Sorry for the long gap between updates. School has gotten its claws into me again and I've been recovering from a bad cold. I should get another chapter up this week.

PS: I am borrowing some of my characters from some of my other stories so don't panic if you recognize them.

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In Memory

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"Ah, man, nothing but the news on. Who the fuck cares if the stock market is gunna crash, I'm missing my daily dose of happy."

"Don't worry, Das. You'll get your Flipper fix, just be thankful you have more then 3 channels to watch like back in the good old days." The deep voice of reason came from the kitchen and into the living room of the old house. It carried well thanks to the sparse walls and the worn down carpet.

"Dart, you better be making me some form of edible food in there." Das, called back, taking up the remote and clicking quickly through the channels.

"You want edible you better get your ass off the couch and in here yourself."

"What the hell you doing in there then if you ain't cooking?"

Dart moved into the living room and joined his friend on the couch, which had seen better days, and sagged under the added weight. "I was perfecting the art of nukin' a good ol' frozen dinner, my friend." He popped the top off his beer.

Das eyed the beverage. "You better have brought me one of those."

"Ha, fuck that man," Dart laughed, "Get your own damn beer." Das sighed and hauled himself off the couch and made his way toward the fridge.

"I swear, if Bird don't make it back soon we're gunna starve to death in this little slice of hell."

Dart took up the remote and began clicking. "Yeah, well, that doesn't look to be anytime soon now does it? Besides, if you don't want to starve you better hope that that stupid fledgling of hers gets back first. His ass can cook."

"Yeah, that's true." Das pulled his head out of the fridge and opened his beer, drank it down. "Bird'd kick our asses too if we lost that kid."

"Yeah, well. Nothin' we could do about that now is there?"

"Nope." Back on the couch, the too men watched the channels fly by as they worked the remote. "Hey now, go back. I think the news has finally found something interesting." Dart went back and found the channel. The screen was filled with the picture of smoke and flame and blackened and charred buildings.

"Terroroists?"

Dart shook his head. "Naw, there would be less wreckage. Another IRS hit maybe."

"No, the buildings have to much character to be government. Probably an accident or some crime gone right. Turn it up."

"This is Tara McCludge reporting from Trenton, New Jersey. It seems like the Bombshell Bounty Hunter, Stephanie Plum has done it again. Her reliable Buick seems to have met its match and has been burning for about 15 minutes now. It has sparked fires in the nearby buildings, causing a little more damage then is average for the local legend. Over the past three years the woman now known as the Bounty Hunter from Hell has destroyed dozens of cars and buildings including a Porshe Boxter and a Funeral Home."

"Man, don't get too close to her. She sounds like she a disaster magnet."

They continued to watch the program until the door opened, violently bouncing off the wall. "Hey, man, watch the wall man." Das turned. "What's with the legs?"

The new comer could barely be called a man. Just past the 22 year mark, Jorden still had the long and lanky body of his teenage years. "Man you should have been there. This lady was kidnapped and killed and I saved her. We gotta protect her."

"What the hell you talkin' about, kid?" Dart stood and made his way over to him.

"I need to lay her down, she's kinda heavy."

"Yeah, alright, put her in the bedroom, we'll take a look at her and you can tell your story. Straight this time, you hear?"

"Yeah, okay." Jorden took a deep breath once the woman's weight was taken off his shoulders. "So, Bird sent be out right? I was on my way to the building right and I see this big black van pull up next to this car. The tires squealed and I thought they had hit you know. I looked over to see if anyone was hurt or whatever and the lady was being dragged out of the car. Then it got weird."

"A lady getting' dragged outta her car ain't weird enough for you?" Das commented.

"Yeah, well, so they got the lady outta her car and over to the back of their van. When they opened the back they pulled out another lady, look just like the one they just got right? So I thought they was sisters or something and it was like a mob deal goin' down and all but then they put the second lady back in the car. That's when I noticed was unconscious because her head was resting on the wheel. Now, heres when I get involved. They set the car on fire, and it goes up right. Just WHOOSH! It's gone. By this time I've moved closer. I was thinking I would put out the fire once the guys were gone. But the lady the pulled from the car kicks the guy that's holding her and she gets away. Runs right at me. That's when they started shootin' at her. One of 'um musta got her cause she pitches forward right into my arms right, and I'm hidden in some alley right, so I grab her and take off. I planned to stay hidden but she was out cold right, at first I thought she was dead but then I gotta better look at her right. So I brought her here."

Dart couldn't believe it. "So you brought her here? Why?"

"Well, Bird, she'd would have wanted me to."

Dart rubbed a hand over his face. "So you rescued this woman, and brought her knocked out and injured body here because you thought that Bird would know what to do with her?"

"But you don't get it, she's the woman."

Das and Dart exchanged a look. "The woman?"

"Yeah, she's RangeMan's woman."

--

AN: I think I'll post the next chapter later today. Aren't you lucky? R&R, because we all love to hear what you think. ~Cokkii


	5. Chapter 4

In Memory

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The woman slept soundly.

--

Ranger and his crew arrived as the last of the car fire was turning to smoke and the firefighters moved onto the surrounding buildings with more vigor. The men in black gathered together in a group in front of their SUVs, conversed with one another, everyone of them receiving a task. Ranger, his right hand man Tank, and another man, Brown, made their way over to Morelli, who was standing to the side near a police cruiser.

"Any news?"

Morelli shook his head. "They're sending in the paramedics now to clear the car and some of the buildings." No sooner had the words come out of his mouth then the paramedic assessing the car let out a shout. More rescuers rushed over pushing past the large group.

"Bobby." The man nodded to his boss and rushed over to the group.

At Morelli's questioning glance Ranger said, "Bobby has medical training."

"ARMY." It wasn't a question. Morelli knew that the majority of RangeMan, if not the entirety of it, had a background in the military of some sort. He didn't have too much of a problem with that, hell, he'd been in the NAVY himself, but the fact that they seemed to use those contacts to get around whatever it was in their way did.

"Ranger!" Bobby's voice carried over the now loud clamor of the rescuers surrounding the car.

--

"Jorden that was the most outrageous and unbelievable story I've ever been told. Who in their right minds reacts like that?" Das leaned forward, placed his elbows on his knees. "Let me tell you something, kid, and I am sure that Bird will back me up on. Never get involved with the Mob. Ever!"

"But-"

"No, no buts. The mob will kill you kid. Without ever looking you in the eye. Until you have Birds name protecting you they won't even give your death a second thought."

"They'd still kill me?"

"Definitely, kid." Dart came into the living room after checking on their sleeping guest. "They might kill just because you have Bird's name behind you."

Jorden visibly deflated. "I just- I just wanted to-" he sighed. "I'm going to bed." He stood and left, leaving Das and Dart behind.

When they heard the door shut on Jorden's room they both let out a sigh. "What is Bird thinking bringing that boy in?"

Dart leaned back, sprawling on his end of the couch. "Bird is her own mind."

"Yeah, you could say that again. So, what are we going to do with Jorden's stray?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Dart looked down at the empty bottle in his hand. "I'm gunna need another beer."

--

AN: Aren't you all the lucky ones. Three chapters in one day. That should hold you over. Thanks for all the reviews and the comments. I'm glad you are all liking it. And I promise you identities will be revealed soon.


	6. Chapter 5

In Memory

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The chairs in the hospital were no strangers to stressed, worried, distraught families, but whenever the men from RangeMan took leave in one of the waiting rooms the chairs were full of silent pain. The men hated to see one of their own in the hospital, all of them had spent more then their fair share of time both in and out of the hard plastic chairs. Whenever their little sister, or rather the woman who became their little sister in every way besides blood, ended up in the hospital, even when it was for a scratch, brought their protective nature came out in full. Now with the possibility that she wouldn't be leaving the sterile hell she hated so much, they just didn't want to think about it.

When the doctor came out, the whole room seemed to lack oxygen. The man looked tired and when he gestured both Ranger and Morelli over to him the men stiffened and knew bad news was coming. "I think we should discuss this in my office. If you'll come with me gentlemen." The doctor led them out of the room and down the hall.

"This is bad." The whole room turned to the speaker.

"Les, man I don't think this is the time or the place." Hal moved towards his friend and coworker.

"I can't think of a better time or place. We all know that when those two come back to share the news, even if she lives, its going to be at a price. Third degree burns, smoke inhalation, who knows what else. If we can't accept that, prepare ourselves for it, hope for it. We'll never be ready and able to help her." Lester looked around at his friends. "And I intend to be there for her."

Just then Morelli and Ranger returned to the group.

It was bad.

--

The first thing the strange woman did when she awakened was throw-up. "That's one way you can thank the boy that saved your life." When she finished she looked up and Dart was startled when her eyes met his. "Well you certainly have a pair of lookers there don't you."

"Is that a line?"

He smiled. "One of my better ones in fact." He moved to her side, offered his hand. "Here, lets go get you cleaned up and get you some food in you. You're skinner then a flag pole."

"You're different then my other kidnappers." She took his hand, followed his lead, and soon found herself in a spacious bathroom.

"Well, seeing as I was not the one to kidnap you I take that as a complement. Feel free to take you time. I'll have your savior lay out some cloths on the bed for you to wear when you are finished. I'll be in the kitchen whipping up something for you to eat. The kitchen is easy to find." And he made his leave.

--

The shower felt like heaven. It felt like years of dirt and grim were being washed way along with the nausea she awoke with. The shampoo was nice and simple smelling. Nothing too complex, but it wasn't memorable and she wasn't sure she'd remember what it smelled like even when she took another shower. The clothes on the bed were a simple pair of sweats and a tee shirt, a pair of socks and a pair of woman's underwear lay beside them. Where they got the underwear she'll never guess but was glad for them.

The smell of burning drew her from the bedroom and into the kitchen. The man who had helped her struggled at a pan on the stove. The vegetables in the pan were blackened and smoking. "I studied at Le Cordon Bleu, graduated top of my class."

"It shows."

"Damn right it does." The second man startled her. "Dart that better not be dinner you're fixin' there. 'Cause I'd rather starve."

He laughed. "If I'd known that I'd have started taking over kitchen duty ages ago." He turned his attention back to her. "This fool here is Das, the eternal pain in my ass."

"And this cooking genius is Dart." Das told her. "If it wasn't for him we'd all be enjoying a decent meal by now."

Dart admitted defeat and scrapped the blackened mess into the trash can. "And who might you be little lady?"

She looked back and forth between the two of them. "You don't know?"

"If we did we wouldn't be asking." Das, smart mouth, she decided.

"Then why did you kidnap me if you didn't know who I was?"

"Good question." Dart nodded. "Hey, Einstein. Why don't you answer the lady's question."

She turned around and was not surprised when she recognized the younger man behind her. "I didn't kidnap you. I saved your life."

"Okay, but then you brought me here."

He nodded. "I didn't feel like dieing either so I brought you to a safe place where you could recover and not be discovered by those men again."

"So you kidnapped me."

"Not intentionally, no. My name's Justen by the way."

She gave him a thoughtful look. "How come your name is normal compared to Ren and Stimpy here?"

"Because he hasn't earned his name yet." All four of them turned to face the door. A woman stood there; she closed the door and set her bag on the floor next to the wall. "You gotta earn your name, something that describes you and only you. Do you now how many Justen's there are in the world? Thousands, if not millions. But, there is and only will be one Bombshell Bounty Hunter, eh, Ms. Plum?"

--

AN: There you go. A fourth chapter. I'm too good to you.


	7. Chapter 6

In Memory

--

_What Was Said In the Doctor's Office_

"I'm afraid she was gone before the fire began. We are not sure yet as to the actual cause of death but by the time anyone arrived it would have been to late." Both of the men sitting across from the doctor in the comfortable armchairs look visibly shaken. "I understand you both were very close with Miss Plum and that many of her other friends and family are back in the waiting room. I suggest we work out a schedule to get everyone in to see one of our grief counselors." He paused a moment. "To either of you have any questions?"

The two men, different in looks, in backgrounds and social circles looked at each other, hoping the other one could reassure them that it wasn't true, that the woman they both loved wasn't gone. Neither of them had that answer. Together they shook their heads but remained seated.

"I understand both of you are in shock and I know you'll need time but I feel responsible to remind you not to hold it inside you. Celebrate her memory. A happy occasion is a prouder way to mourn then a sad one. I know Miss Plum was full of life and I doubt she'd want you to remember her as you last saw her after that accident. Celebrate her life not her death." With that the doctor stood and made his way to the door, after having delivered this blow to many before he knew the two men would stand and follow him out of habit and natural response. Later when the sat in their homes and the reality that the young lady they both come to adore wouldn't be there, they will go through the grieving process of denial, anger, sadness and eventually acceptance, but how long they remain in each stage was up to them, the individual. He hoped his little speech would be remembered and helps them move faster towards acceptance.

--

The RangeMan crew was silent, not unusual to them, but it was too silent. There were no whispered lude jokes exchanged in the halls, no peeking over the tops of their cubical to share a secret smile over an email or privet joke, no betting pool going on in the break room over when the boss would catch someone misbehaving. It was dead.

They had all heard the news.

The elevator dinged and a couple men looked to the sliding doors with the privet hope of seeing her walk through them, a laugh and a smile, sawing how it was all in their imagination. Instead they saw Hal, disappointed they turned away, some to wipe unbidden tears off their cheeks before someone could say something. Not that anyone would have. Crying over Steph wasn't going to be considered unmanly or sissy. Hell, they would have be a wuss, a cold hearted bastard, if they didn't cry over her.

Hal had a vase and a display board under his arms. He set them on his desk and moved into the break room. He returned to the floor dragging a table and set it in the middle of the room. On the table, right in the center, he place the vase, and next to that he set up the display board. Without saying anything he dropped a piece of paper into the jar and walk back to the elevator.

When the elevator doors had shut behind him Binky got up from his desk and when over to investigate. The sign read:

_In Memory of_

_Stephanie Plum_

_Donations go towards a memorial in her name._

Binky looked at the vase and dug into his pockets. All the spare change he had could be heard across the floor as it dropped onto the glass bottom. One by one the other men came over, read the sign and donated their spare change. Many of them made the promise to donate everyday until they had enough to create the best damn memorial anyone had ever seen.

When Ranger walked onto the floor on the way to his office the vase was three quarters of the way full. When he stopped to read the sign but then continued to his office without dropping as much a penny many of the men stared in shock and horror. When he returned from his office with a paper in one hand and a tape dispenser in the other they watched in fascination. He taped the paper underneath the words on Hal's sign and returned to his office without a word.

Binky was the first to investigate again. He'd be damned if the boss man was ordering them to stop. He was in fact shocked to read the addition to the sign:

_All donations will be matched by Ranger Manoso._

--

AN: I'm a nice person. I updated again so soon. I love this chapter. If you have any ideas for what the memorial should be let me know. I think I'll post a poll about it later today. R&R. ~Cokkii


	8. Chapter 7

In Memory

--

Bob new something was wrong when Joe got home. At first he thought Joe was angry because he'd eaten his best pair of leather loafers in his boredom. The he thought it was because he's horked up the leather scraps on the kitchen floor. But that couldn't be right either. Usually when Bob did those things Joe called him a 'bad dog' and cleaned up the mess. Later they'd share a pizza and a hockey game. But Joe didn't do any of those things.

When Bob heard the key in the front door the next day he knew it would be Lady Stephie. She always gave him good lovin's when she came over. He rushed to the door, ready to get face to face with her. When he saw who it was he screeched to a halt and sat in the hall. The lady in the door was definitely not Lady Stephie. It was Joe's mother. Bob didn't like her. She smelled of dust, which made Bob sneeze, and old lady, which scared Bob.

As Joe's mother moved through the house Bob could hear her complaining about his spit up that Joe forgot to clean up when he got home. Where was Lady Stephie? She smelled like doughnuts and pizza, Bob's two favorite foods. She always rubbed his ears and took him for walks. Sometimes she even took him back to her house and for car rides. He liked Lady Stephie. Where was she?

--

AN: A sad short chapter. I wasn't ready for more of the "unknown" characters yet so I decided to put in an often forgotten character.


	9. Chapter 8

In Memory

--

"And what makes you think you can stop me?" Steph had her hand on the door knob before Das wrapped his arms around her waist and hauled her bodily away from it and placed her on the couch, where she started.

"You can't leave. You've got to understand that." Dart sat on the arm of the arm chair across from her. "The more you try, the less likely you are to succeed."

Steph crossed her arms. "Says who? That doesn't make any sense. The more times you try the better chance you have of one of your plans work."

"Not true." Bird came out of her room. It was the same room Steph had woken up in. her hair was still wet from her shower and she'd changed into a pair of sweats and an old ARMY tee-shirt. "The more times you try to escape your captures the less likely they are to give you the opportunity you need to succeed. I've faced that lesson a time or two before."

"What kind of world do you live in?" Steph, noticed the shirt and groaned. "Isn't there anyone on this planet who hasn't joined the US ARMY or equivalent?"

Bird grinned. "That's what you get when you make RangeMan your extended family."

"Yeah, but your not a part of RangeMan. I can at least hope for someone of a normal background. Someone who doesn't carry around two guns and a knife."

Bird burst into laughter. "I used to tell the boys they were nowhere being family material with those accessories. I can't believe they still use that line as an excuse. That's so lame."

"Wait, you telling me you know the guys at RangeMan?"

"Know 'em. I was on the A team. How do you think those losers got out of those hell holes? Talent? Hell, no. Without me those boys would have been killed long ago."

Steph shook her head. "Of course. Why am I surprised? I should be shocked if someone said they didn't know those guys." She sighed.

"Hey, don't go being like that," Bird sat down next to her. "Its not their fault that they like to be memorable. I told them it would bite them on the ass if they did. It's not good to be remembered. Especially by the wrong people."

"So the wrong people remembered RangeMan and came after me?" Steph was confussed. Not a single moment had gone by in her new company when she actually understood what someone was getting at. "Why me?"

"Well, we're not quite sure if they we after to get RangeMan but we know that they didn't intend to let you go alive. Or to let you go at all. But for some reason they wanted everyone to think you were dead. Probably to keep anyone from searching for you and foiling their plans." Bird looked to Das. "You learn anything yet?"

Das shook his head. "You're going to have to go down the chain a little. I'm too high up. We need someone on the denizen level to get the kind of info we need."

Bird nodded. "I think I'll call Spud in the morning."

Dart gave her a funny look. "Isn't that a little on the early morning side his time?"

"Yeah, it'll keep him on his toes. Besides, it lets him know it's important."

--

The phone rang four times before Spud answered, and when he did his greeting came out more of a moan then a word. "Good morning, sunshine."

"I hate you," was the response.

"Ah, don't be like that. I've got a question for you." Bird was propped up on her pillows, legs stretched out before her on top of the covers of her bed.

"Don't you always?" She could hear the rustling of sheets as her friend sat up in bed. "Jesus, Bird. Can't a man get some sleep?"

"Not if I'm awake."

"No doubt. So, what can I do for you today?"

"A woman was killed in Trenton the other day. Who was she? Also, who killed her? And of course, the all important question, why?"

"The regular three then?"

"Yep. And I need my answers-"

"Yesterday, I know. This isn't my first rodeo, girl. I'll get right on it."

"I knew I could trust you, Spud." Bird smiled. Spud was one of the few in her long list of contacts who'd she'd actually met in person and liked.

"Damn, Bird, you still stuck on that damn nickname? Can't you pick something a little more intimidating and manly? You're doing a number on my testosterone levels there." She could hear the pain in his voice.

"Sorry, man. It's there to stay. Besides, I like your reactions too much to appease you."

"Fine then. I'll make sure you get your answers about three in the morning tomorrow."

"Love you too, Spud."

"Bite me, bitch." And they both hung up, satisfied with their encounter.


	10. Chapter 9

In Memory

--

Ranger was laying in the dark when his phone rang. He ignored it. He didn't want to talk to anyone. Nothing anyone had to say would take the ache out of his chest. Nothing else had worked. He'd been to the gym, worked out until he could hardly stand. He'd drank until he could see straight. He'd watched TV until his mind went numb but nothing relieved the ache in his chest. The second time the phone rang he reached over from his position on the bed to answer it.

"Speak."

"Hey, RangeMan. How's the legit side of life treating you?" The voice on the other end was the last he was expecting.

"Spud? That you?"

"Aw man you couldn't forget that could ya? Of all the nicknames, she had to go and name me after a vegetable."

"Now's not a good time, Spud."

"Yeah I heard. Listen I wanna help hunt the fuckers down but I can't get a line for the life of me. That tells me something. I don't think even you guys should get involved with a group I can't dig up dirt on."

"Bird know this?"

"Fuck man. Hell if I know. You want I can go to her with this. But you know how she gets when you go to her with nothing."

Ranger rubbed a hand over his face. "Yeah I do. Okay. Thanks for the tip Spud."

"Hey man, if you forget that name then I'd owe you one for a change." And he hung up.

Ranger sat up and looked at the phone in his hands. He could call her but it'd been so long since they'd talked he wasn't sure if she kept the same number. He decided he'd call in a few hours. He needed to do something. Anything. He was restless.

--

AN: Hey, sorry it's so short. My muse has taken an extended vacation and I'm having a hard time getting her to come back to work. I promise to post something again soon but I don't guarantee it'll be much longer.


	11. Chapter 10

In Memory

--

The knock on the door was unexpected. Ranger got up from his place on the couch and went to answer the door. Finding Tank, Lester and Bobby on the other side wasn't much of a surprise. He stood to the side and let them all in. "I've got some news." He said after he had closed the door.

"What kind?"

"A little of good and a lot of bad."

The group spread them selves over the living room. Tank took the couch with Lester. Bobby stood to the side and Ranger took the chair.

"Good first." Lester decided.

Ranger sighed. "The good news is that one of Bird's guys is willing to dig around for us."

"She still caught that going? Which guy?" Bobby asked.

"Spud."

"Ah, man. I love that guy." Lester said. "How's he doin'?"

Ranger shrugged. "That leads me to the bad news."

"What? He's not sick or anything?" Tanks concern came out. Ever since the accident and the fire he'd been thinking the worse of all the situations he'd come up against or heard of.

"No, not that I know off. He called me a couple of hours ago and let me know he was willing to look into those responsible and pass along any info that he got. The problem is he's already started digging and he hasn't come up with anything we don't know."

"Damn." Tank shook his head. "Does Bird know? Has he reported back to her yet?"

"She won't be very happy when she gets that news."

"I know. That's why I told him we'd take care of that."

Bobby moved closer. "You bringing B in on this?"

"Why not? She's already got one of her guys on the case and the information has to go to her anyways. So I thought you'd be the one to deliver that message, Lester."

"What?! Me? Why? What did I do to deserve this kind of torture?"

Tank burst out laughing at his friend's distress. "Ah, man I don't envy you."

"Not so fast, Tank. You're in charge of finding her. I don't know about any of you buys but I don't have her current number. Spud did say that she has two of her highers on the east coast. Find them and they should get a way to contact her."

Tank groaned. "You know how long that's going to take, man?"

Ranger shrugged.

"What about me?" Bobby asked. Ranger turned to face him.

"Bird already knows that something went down and that we need an extra hand. She's got to have someone following one of us. Someone on the inside is more then likely but I'd look out before I move in." Bobby nodded and the others stood and moved towards the door.

"What're you going to do?"

Ranger shrugged. "I'm going to dig. See if I can't get the streets to talk to me."

--

Das, Dart, and Justen were in the living room playing on the xbox. The game of choice: Flatout. And Das was loosing. "Damn. Man you guys are cheaters. I should slip a little something into your evening drinks and ship you off to some godforsaken wasteland."

Dart barked out laughter. "You should learn to play. Even the kid is kicking your ass."

The front door opened and closed. "Not for much longer. The kid's got an assignment."

"Aww," Justen paused the game. "Can't it wait until after this race?"

Bird just looked at him. He sighed in defeat. "Fine. Hey, Steph! You wanna play?"

Steph stuck her head out of the bedroom. "What place are you in?"

"Second."

"Who's winning?"

"Dart."

"Okay."

Das just shrugged it off. "At least now I have a chance."

--

AN: Sorry again for the wait. But the good news is that I'm on Spring Break and should be able to crank out a couple more chapters this week.


	12. Chapter 11

In Memory

--

Bird was driving and Justen was in the passenger seat of his car. "So what's this assignment?"

"RangeMan is totally in the dark as far as knowing what went down that night. The four of us are the only ones that do. Or at least we know the most outside of the guys who started this thing. You proved that you got good instincts and good eyes to go with 'em. So I'm putting you on RangeMan to see if any of our suspects is looking to make another hit or recon or anything. As for why you're the only one who got a look at the bad guys."

They pulled up to the curb a block away from the building in question. "So how are we supposed to get away with just sitting here all obvious and the like?" She just looked over at him. "What?"

"You can't think of any way for me to get out of this car and not look suspicious?"

Justen looked around, the street was deserted, very little foot traffic so they already were out of place. "No hookers. Can't go for the drop off." He looked back towards her. The look on her face had him back pedaling. "Not that you look like a hooker."

Bird laughed out loud. "No, no. I get it. That's good. You're absolutely right. There aren't any regular hookers in this area and if suddenly one is dropped off it'll get a second look. Any other ideas?"

Justen took a second look around. "I can't think of one other then me being dropped off at work but it still would look a little out of place I think."

Bird swung her arm out and backhanded his arm. "Ow, what the hell?" He rubbed away the sting.

"You listen to me you stupid bastard. I'm going to yell and hit and eventually get out of the car. You need to yell at me abut how stupid I am. And I'm going to walk off. I might even kick a door or two." Bird was already yelling and gesturing with her hands taking Justen completely off guard. "Can you tell me what you're going to do next?"

It took him a moment to shake off the surprise but once he did he was a natural. "No, what am I going to do next? Tell me!"

"You're going to scoot over, take the wheel and drive off." Bird opened the door and got out of the car. As she stood facing him she yelled, "You'll come back to me you bastard. You'll see." She slammed the door shut and walked away playing her part to a tee.

--

Up in the control room Cal was finding it hard not to laugh at the footage of the angry lovers spat. Binkie came up behind him. "You gotta be the only person who enjoys monitor duty. What's so funny?" He looked over his shoulder and hung his head. "Poor bastard."

"That's exactly what she called him. And you know he's gunna go back to her. Look at the shock on this poor kids face. When she comes out of nowhere." Cal backed up the tape and got a laugh out of Binkie.

"Ah, man. I wish I had your shift."

--

AN: Short, I know but things are beginning to come together and things are moving along. I'll have another chapter up before you know it.

PS: Thanks for all of the kind reviews and comments. I'm writing this for you.


	13. Chapter 12

In Memory

--

Justen sat in the SUV and sulked. He always got the boring assignments. Sure, he was the lowest on the totem pole but you would think he would be able to catch something exciting once and a while. The street was dead. No one was walking down the sidewalks, no cars pulling in and out of lots or anything. _I suppose quite is a good thing, _he mused. Of course, that also meant that the people he was looking for weren't making an appearance.

"This sucks." He said to himself. Keeping up with the cover Bird had set him up with he checked his watch and made sure to be obvious while looking up and down the street. Bird had probably caught a cab a few blocks away and was spending some down time with the guys keeping Steph entertained.

Justen blew out a sigh. _I can't wait until all this fledge stuff is over with. Then I could get some real assignments, work real cases and get out in the world._ He jumped when his cell rang.

"Hello?" He hated that he hadn't been able to hide his breathlessness.

"Hey, kid. Got a van fitting your description heading your way. Check the rearview."

He did as he was told. "I got ya. Orders?"

"Recognize it?"

"Yeah." He returned his gaze to the street. "It's them."

"I want you to wait them out for about 20 minutes. If they don't make a move by then, drive around the block a couple of times. If they still don't approach then park back here. Repeat until something goes down."

Justen looked back towards RangeMan. "You think they're coming to move on RangeMan?"

He could hear her laugh. "Not in broad daylight. I'm the only one ballsy enough to even consider that an option."

"So what then?" Then it hit him. "You're using me as bait!?"

"Now you're getting it, kid."

"B-b-but why?" he sputtered.

"You're the only one who saw them. And you ruined their plans. You stole their prize. They were bound to have a man watching RangeMan to see if Steph was going to return but instead you showed up. You're the next best thing. You know where she is."

"But," Justen was shocked. Never had he considered himself expendable, especially in Bird's eyes.

"Got to go, kid. Got another call." And she hung up. He stared at the phone in his hands.

"You've got to be kidding me."

--

Bird was in the lobby of an office building one block down across the street. She had a decent view of Justen's SUV and the RangeMan building. Little did Justen know that he wasn't alone. The men in RangeMan were watching and recording his SUV so she had him covered there, and Das was in a position similar to hers on the other side of RangeMan. If these bastards were going to take the bait they were going to be prepared.

She hadn't lied when she said she had another call. She answered but didn't say anything. Always let them make the first move.

"Bird."

"That's not a question."

"And that's not an answer. You knew it was me."

"Still not a question, RangeMan."

"Well, I've got plenty. You got the answers I need?"

"Depends on the questions."

"Still as evasive as ever." Lester sighed. "Ranger could take a lesson from you."

"Ask your question, boy-o, or I'm hanging up."

"You hear about the arson in Jersey?"

"Woman burned in a car."

"Yeah. You know who the woman was?"

"Heard it was a local bounty hunter."

"She was a friend."

"Worked for RangeMan too if I understand correctly."

"You up-to-date?"

"As up-to-date as I can be."

"Damn, that doesn't sound very good."

"I'm working on it."

Lester sat up straight in his chair. "You are?"

He could hear her scoff. "I can't let some mob wannabe take out of yours. Besides, I owe you guys a favor or two."

"Well, owe you if you can help us catch these guys."

"Damn, skippy you will. By the way, next time just have Spud give you my number instead of going to Dart. He's busy." And she hung up.

Lester looked at his phone, not unlike Justen had not moments ago, and shook his head. "She hasn't changed." He stood and went looking for the guys, it was time to report back.

--

AN: Another short one and I'm sorry for taking so long. Who knew life could be so intrusive? I mean really? Can't I get a moment to myself? I hope to have another chapter up this weekend.

Thanks for putting up with me this far. Action on the way.


	14. Chapter 13

In Memory

Justen sat guarded, unknowingly, for several more hours when Bird called his cell. "Pack it up, kid. I'm calling it a day. Drive around the block once on your way back to base." When she hung up he set his phone in the center console before he pulled away from the curb in front of RangeMan. He turned the radio on as he turned the corner to begin his route around the block and began nodding his head along with the beat.

He'd made it around the block and was on his way back to base when they decided to make their move.

Bird was packing up her things into her shoulder bag when she saw the van pull away from their curb out of the corner of her eye. "Fuck." She packed the last few things away and hurried to the sidewalk outside of her hideout. The van was turning the corner when she made it outside. "Double fuck."

She whipped out her cell. "Dart, we got trouble."

"Yeah?"

"The van is following Justen."

"He spot 'em?"

"I doubt it."

"Fuck."

"Yeah, they're going to take him and we're too far behind." She took off for the car she had in a parking garage around the corner. "You close to your car?"

"A block away."

"Same."

"Damn," was the last thing she heard as she hung up. She had to make a call.

"Santos."

"Got someone in the garage?"

"You don't know?"

"Whoever it is needs to get into one of your cars and follow the van that just pulled away from the curb and headed down 70th."

"Those our guys?"

"We won't know unless one of us can tail them."

"On it." She dropped her phone into her pocket and reached for her keys. She had gotten them in the door lock when Lester called her back.

"You got them?"

"Yep. Three car lengths ahead of us."

"Good keep close enough to see if they make a move on the car that's been parked in front of RangeMan all day."

"Fuck, you mean that's your man?"

"Maybe."

Lester laughed and drew the attention of the other men in the control room. "You're telling me that your had one of your men sitting outside of RangeMan all day, waiting for some chick?"

"Technically, he's a fledgling, and he wasn't waiting for some chick he was bait for the van."

"Poor bastard. So, who was… oh, I know. It was you who left his ass."

"Had to give him a good reason to be there all day." She started her car and burned rubber out of the parking garage. "What's their 20?"

"Heading south on Madison, past 65th street."

Justen had just crossed the intersection of Madison and 64th when he spotted the tail. "Fuck." He could feel his heart rate jump up a notch and sweat break out on his hands. "Dart, why didn't you ever take me out for Lose a Tail 101?"

He made the turn onto 63rd and went a block, turned right down an alley. When he came out on the cross street he picked up the pace. Thought began to whirl around his head. _Can't lead them back to base. Gotta meet up with Bird, RangeMan has cameras, I don't want to be kidnapped!_

He made another turn and checked his rearview. He couldn't see the van. _But that doesn't mean I lost them._ He took in his surroundings, trying to orient himself in a strange city. There was a sign that pointed the way to Quaker Bridge Mall. _Go on foot, get lost in a crowd, get away, call Bird. Good plan._

He made his way towards his safe haven when he spotted the van behind him. "Damn." But he didn't let it distract him. Pull up next to a door, jump out, ditch the car, hide in the mall.

He sped into the parking lot and pulled up to the curb in front of the doors, pulled the parking break, reset the odometer and made a mad dash into the mall.

AN: YAY! I got another chapter done. And with some action too. I hope to have some time this weekend to get another chapter cranked out. I hope you guys enjoy, I'm doing this for you.


	15. Chapter 14

In Memory

"I lost him," Das reported.

"Last known location?" Bird had everything planned out, but a lot of her plan relied on Justen's ingenuity, brains, and legs. If he didn't run fast enough then he'd find himself in a very bad situation. And Bird didn't think he was ready for that.

"A back alley, in proximity of the mall."

"Copy." Bird whipped her car in to the parking lot in front of the Macy's. "RangeMan I'm gunna need 5 to be seen and 10 to be invisible."

"You got them."

"Great. Post them in the textbook positions. I want the bad guys to think they got everything in control."

"Will do."

Ranger pulled his own SUV into the spot next to Bird's. She was already out of the car and standing next to Justen's abandoned one. Ranger joined her. "At least he knew not to stop, park and get out."

"Yeah, the chase just went on. If he had slowed down just one bit then they'd have his car. Bird opened the door and levered herself into the passenger seat. "Palms were sweating." She looked around the console. "Took the GPS, covered his ass in case someone checked his car. Screwed himself if he gets caught." The SUV had a rearview camera. Bird turned it on and rewound the tape.

"I didn't know you could do that." Ranger looked up and over at Lester, who was sticking his head in the passenger window.

"Special upgrade," she replied.

"That's a good idea, think Al would install that in our trucks?" He directed his question to Ranger but Bird answered.

"Who do you think I got to install mine?" She smirked over at Ranger. "Your guys are loyal Ranger but you need to dig deeper into their backgrounds and see who else they are loyal too. Al practically peed his pants when he told me about your Porsche." She pushed a series of buttons on the screen and a second later her phone beeped a confirmation it received the file.

Ranger groaned which made Bird smile. "But don't worry, RangeMan. I'm just keeping tabs on ya, not spying. And I sure wouldn't let these guys work with you and your company if I didn't approve of them."

"Yeah, some how I'm not completely comforted," at Bird's glare he added, "but I trust you. But not even you can trust someone completely."

Ranger backed up as she jumped out of the car. She locked it and stuck the keys in her pocket. They headed into the mall. "That's not true."

"Bird, don't tell me you're that naive?"

She shook her head. "No, but I do trust some people with my life. You, for example."

And with that she changed the subject. "So, have your men reported in?"

Ranger was shocked with her revelation of trust in him but he knew there was a better time to dwell on the development. "Your fledge has been spotted at the southern end of the mall but our suspects have been hiding themselves well."

"I'm not surprised."

Justen was currently trying to hide himself as well. He strolled into a department store made a not so suspicious mad dash for a clearance rack and ducked inside. There he let himself breathe and collect himself. It was his first big chase and he hated to admit it but his nerves were getting to him. He took another deep breath and pulled out his cell and dialed Bird's number.

It rang once. "You're doing great kid."

"Thanks." Some how it wasn't what he was expecting to hear.

"I don't want you to talk if you're in hiding. But I need you to answer some questions. Once for 'yes', twice for 'no way.' Got it?"

Justen tapped the speaker of his phone once. "Great. "

AN: Sorry this update has taken so long. I know real life is no excuse but it does have a habit of getting in the way. I had the weekend off out in the mountains where I had nothing but nature surrounding me, and nothing to do but write. Thanks for your patience. I couldn't do this without you. ~Cokkii


	16. Chapter 15

In Memory

"Now I want you to stay hidden. The last thing I need is for those assholes to take you hostage." Justen silently agreed. The last thing he wanted was to be taken hostage by these guys. He'd seen first hand what they were capable of.

"I've got fifteen guys here to help you. Five are going to be obvious and the others are going to blend in. If you have any trouble I want you to go to one of the obvious ones. Don't rat out the others if you can avoid it." Justen tapped the phone once.

"Okay, so were going to try to catch these guys so we're going to try and draw their…" There was a horrible noise in the background, all Justen could hear was shouting chaos. Then the line went dead.

The plan had worked; the bad guys had snuck up on Bird and Ranger and attacked. They went after Bird, for the most part. Three guys had broken off from the group and kept Ranger busy as they attempted to move Bird away from the ruckus and out of the mall. She almost went without a fight but thought better of it. The last thing she wanted at this moment was to be turned into a bar-b-que a-la crazy.

Bird fought but not only to escape, but to damage and collect evidence. Every little bit was going to help them find out who these guys were and what their motives were towards Stephanie Plum, and who the poor woman in the car was.

The fight didn't last long before the Calvary appeared. RangeMen came from nowhere and jumped into the fray. When they realized they were out numbered, the suspects made a run for it. A few of the guys gave chase but most stayed behind to control the crowds, and assist Ranger and Bird.

"I don't know who they are but they know how to fight," Ranger admitted. He hadn't been a brawl that challenging since Basic. He looked around and saw that Bird was twenty yards or so away from where she started and was laying on the ground. He moved over to where she was and knelt by her side next to Bobby.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure." When Bobby reached to check the cut on her forehead she pulled back.

"You better let me have a look at that cut, B."

She shook her head. "No way. I've got more bad guy DNA on me then the rest of ya'll combined. You need to get me to the labs and get everything collected before you contaminate all my hard work."

Everyone was back at RangeMan, except for the few left behind to see if their suspects were still lingering or going to return to the mall. The little lab on the third floor was jammed packed full of people. Bird was busy taking swabs and collecting saliva from her clothes and skin from under her nails. Justen was being examined by Bobby.

"You're looking a little clammy, kid." He commented.

"It's the adrenaline. I'm crashing." And he didn't like it, but then he remembered the feeling of the adrenaline coursing through him, and he realized he didn't like that feeling either.

"The key is to make the adrenaline work for you," Ranger told him. "If you let the adrenaline control you then you're likely to do something in a panic other then thinking your actions through, and getting yourself caught or killed."

"It's hard to control the crash though," Justen replied.

Lester laughed, "It just takes some practice and some getting used to. Then you'll be able to control the symptoms and your reactions."

Justen looked over to his mentor and was surprised to see her smiling. "They're right your know." She told him. "The more experience you have the better at predicting your bodies reaction and then you'll be able to control your responses."

"You didn't tell me I was going to feel this bad after."

Bird shrugged. "Truth be told, I couldn't have. Everyone reacts differently. This is one of those things you are going to have to practice on your own."

Cal came over and collected all of the swabs and things from Bird and took them over to the counter across the room. He did some fancy things to the various samples and put them in a number of different machines. Everyone watched him work. He finished what he was doing and reported back.

"All the tests will take a couple of hours. I'll call you when the results come in." He added to Ranger. Ranger nodded and led the group out of the lab and into the hall.

"Debriefing in an hour. Go clean up everyone. Bird, get your cuts seen to; and take your fledge somewhere to get him calmed down." She nodded and signaled to Justen. Slowly and unsteadily he followed her down the hall and out of sight. Once they were gone, he addressed the rest of his men.

"I'm pretty sure all of you know that those two know a lot more then they are telling us. I can pretty much can guarantee it. We need to be careful with how we handle them."

AN: Yay! A second chapter done from this weekend. Hopefully there will be a lot more following this one. Keep your fingers crossed that I did some work. And let me know what you think of how the story is going. I can't improve if you don't tell me I'm doing something wrong. Thanks~ Cokkii


	17. Chapter 16

In Memory

Ranger had let Bird and her fledge clean up in one of the open apartments on the fourth floor. Ella had called them earlier to get clothing sizes to replace what was ruined and dirty while she washed and repaired them. The two of them had finished redressing and met in the living room.

Justen plopped down onto the couch, leaned his head back, eyes closed. Bird sat heavily next to him, water bottle in hand. They sat in silence for a moment, soaking up the day.

Bird spoke first. "You handled everything well. I'm impressed."

Justen opened his eyes and turned his head her way. "Impressed? By what? That I didn't get killed?"

"That. And the fact that you didn't panic. You used your resources and surroundings to your advantage."

He scoffed. "It felt like panic to me."

"Naw, you're just to hard on yourself." She took a swing of water. "Just look at what started this mess. You reacted well then too. If not for you then that woman would be dead and Das would still be playing video games with 13 year olds in other countries. You gave him something to work for." Bird nudged his shoulder. "You should look at the good as well as then bad. If you don't then you'll end up feeling worthless and destructive. That's not a good feeling."

Justen tilted his head back again and looked up at the ceiling. "You're right. It's not."

Ranger pushed his conscience down when he slipped on the headphone that let him hear what was going on in the apartment he loaned his old friend. "He had to find Steph, that was his reasoning behind this. He had to know what had happened to her. He needed closure.

He heard Ella drop of the change of clothes and the rustling of fabrics as they got dressed. Eventually he picked up the sound of them moving around in the living area. There was the sound of the refrigerator opening and closing, someone sitting down then silence.

When he heard Bird tell the boy she was impressed, Ranger could feel his inner Jiminy Cricket rise back up but he pushed him back down again. This wasn't the time for his feelings to get involved. He had to focus on the goal, and that goal was finding Steph. And it was lucky he was focused when it happened. It wasn't much but it was a start. He listened for a couple more moments to see if anything else would be revealed and when he got nothing he took off the headset and made his way to the fourth floor, Tank by his side.

Bird was unsurprised to find Ranger and Tank in the hall when she answered the door. She had just been wondering when they would want to go through a debriefing and they hadn't disappointed. She called to Justen and the four of them made their way to the elevator.

When they got off Ranger motioned to Bird that he would to speak to her first, alone. She gave a signal to Justen that she'd be back in a moment and followed Ranger into a room down the hall.

Justen knew that when Tank lead him into a room of his own not a second after the door had closed that they were going to be questioned separately. And all he could think about was how he hadn't passed this part of his training yet.

AN: Chap number three as a result of my weekend in the mountains. I can't wait to get them posted for you guys to read. I hope you like where this is going. Sorry for the cliffie (and the short length) but it'll give me more incentive to write more. Enjoy ~Cokkii


End file.
